Feed compressing machine



Aug. 4, 1953 Filed Sept. 30, 1949 A. PoPlcK 2,647,474

FEED coMPREssING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 4, 1953 A. PoP'lcK FEED COMPRESSING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 30, 1949 5m l r INVENTOR. czr'on Popick BY awawf/ y in United States Patent Number Patented ug. 4, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlc-E 2,647,474 FEED coMPREssING MACHINE Aaron Popick, Portland, Oreg.`

Application September 30, 1949, Serial No. 118,837

(Cl. IOT-14) 9 Claims. 1

In its broadest scope this invention relates to vmachines for processing a conglomerate, pliable or semipliable mass into compressed pellets, cakes, or other shapes and of suitable sizes and consistency for use as fowl and animal foods.

The invention has a close aflinity to feed compressing machines employing ring dies to form the conglomerate mass into pellets, cakes and other desirable shapes. It is particularly indentiiiable with the invention described and claimed 2,160,302, granted to John W. Billows on May 30, 1939 on a Compressed Feed Machine.

`In fact, the general objects and advantages enumerated in the foregoing patent, apply with equal effect to the present invention. However, in applying the teachings of the foregoing patent to practical tests, certain inherent disadvantages were revealed, all of which have been overcome by the present invention, and, in addition, other desirable objects, advantages and features result from this invention as will be pointed out forthwith.

As pointed out in Patent No. 2,160,302, one of the features of that invention is that, subject only to commercial-practicability, its basic design and principles of operation are in no way affected by the size of the unit. The very essence of that invention lies in the provision of means for permitting adjustments of the-distance between the interior of the die and the shoe portion of the compressing means in order to control the volume of feed which may be forced through a die possessing perforations in a predetermined area and thus insuring that Sufficient material ,will be fed through the die in order to produce feeds of uniform size, density, and quality. This applies equally as well as to the present invention with the added features of permitting the use of a greater number of shoe portions of the compressing means to increase the productivity of the machine without increasing its workload and providing simpler and more effective means for permitting the adjustments of the distance between the interior ofthe die and the shoe portions of the compressing means.

One of the difficulties discovered in the use of a machine embodying the principles disclosed and claimed in Patent No. 2,160,302, was that, in spite of the uniform feeding of the materials to be compressed into the machine, the shoes used to compressthe materials through the die did `not wear off evenly, nor did the interior of. the

die wear evenly. It is, therefore, one of the importantobjects of the invention to provide c9m mon and variable means for compensating vfor the uneven wear of these shoes and die and thereby insure the production of compressed feeds uniform in size. density and quality.

Still another equally important object of the invention is to provide, in a, machine having a ring die through which a pliable or semi-pliable material may be continuously extruded, a plurality of uniformly spaced shoes which operate within the area surrounded by the die and which frictionally force the material through thedie by a wiping action exerted against the material and preventing said material from escaping gradual compression and final exudation from said die.

An equally important object of the invention is vto provide one or more shoes which have the structural characteristics permitting greater productivity of the machine with less wear on the shoes `and die.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will undoubtedly become .apparent as the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification herein, in which there is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, but only for the purpose of illustrating one node of embodying the principles of the inven- In the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference characters are uniformly employed to designate the same parts throughout:

Figure 1 isa side elevation, partlyin section and broken away, of a machine embodying the principles of my invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction indicated, partly in section and broken away, showing vthe structural characteristics of the interior of the machine embodying the principles of the invention;

Figure 3 is a sectional, end view, partly in section and broken away, taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2 looking lin the direction indicated, to show the structural features of one of the legs of the shoe holding spider;

Figure 4 is a top perspective of one of the shoes employed in my invention showing some details of construction; i

yFigure. 5 is a plan view of the working face of the shoe shown in Fig. 4; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view of a shoe taken on line 6 6 `of Fig. 4, looking in the direction indicated to graphically show the side configuration of the Working face of the shoe. v The machine embodying tbe principles of the invention Iis confined in a casing, generally designated by reference character A, and is composed of sections l and 2. Section I of the casing has the usual openings 3 to provide satisfactory anchorage between the casing and its support.

The bottom flange 4 of section 2 of the casing is disposed upon and tightly secured to the top flange 5 of section I with the usual gasket therebetween, and these are secured to each other in any desirable manner, as by bolts I. When sections I and 2 are thusly secured an oil chamber `I is provided having sufficient area therein to house the shaft, bearings, and gearing shortly to be described.

A bearing support 8 extends inwardly from the inner wall of section I and possesses the structural requirements for securely supporting suitable bearings 9 therein as well as help carry the thrust load. A circular plate II) is removably secured to the top of support 8 to hold the bearings '9 in place. A gasketed plate I l is removably secured to the under side of the bearing support 8 'to give access to the bearings and permit removal of the lubricant, if desired. Section 2 of the casing also has a bearing support I2 extending downwardly from its top I3 and possesses the required structural elements to support suitable bearings `I4 therein. Support 8 and top I3 are adequately reinforced to withstand the normal upward thrust incident to the operation of the machine and bearings 9 and I4, employed in the machine embodying the invention, are preferably thrust bearings ,of any welleknown type to resist this 'normal upward thrust.

A shaft lrextends vertically in relation to sections I and 2 and passes through a centrally located opening I6 having an ap-propriate oil seal surrounding the shaft. Bearings `9 and I4 have their respective inner races secured to shaft I5 by the employment of means too well-known to Warrant description. A gear wheel Il', completely confined in chamber 1, is keyed or otherwise firmly secured to shaft I5 and has bearing spaces I8 and I9 above and below it. A helical pinion 20 vis at all times in mesh with gear wheel I'l and is mou-nt'ed on a shaft 2l journaled within the casing, as shown in Figure l, in bearings (not shown) at each end of the transverse cylindrical portions 22 and 23 of casing sections I and 2, so that the shaft 2l extends beyond the casing A. vSince 'the gear wheel and pinion lare both conhe'd in 'chamber 1, they a're at all times in a bath of oil. The source of power for driving the pinion has been purposely omitted, since any power source 'may be employed without altering the basic construction of the machine embodying the invention.

Only a slight 'change has been made in the structural characteristics of the top I3. A plurality of pins 24, in parallel transverse alignment extend upwardly from the top and then only at substantial intervals. These pins, 'in cooperation with 'a plurality of complementary pins extending downwardly from the compressing shoes *supporting spider hereinafter to be described, prevent the `material being processed to become compacted on the top I3. Except for this slight change, the top I3 has the same congurations as disclosed by the Billows patent and will therefore 'not be described in detail.

No uchange at 'all has been made in the die '25, therefore the description of the die in the Billows ,patent fits the die employed in this vmachine embodying the invention. The die consists of an annular tapered ring which is removably `posii tioned with respect to top I3 and has a plurality of openings 26 formed therethrough. These openings are radially disposed with relation to the die and are inclined proportionately to the taper of the die shown in the drawings. The size and shape of the openings are different for each die and depend largely upon the type of compressed feeds that it is desired to have manufactured. More will be said later about the interchangeability of dies. By cutting out from the die an annular portion as shown at 2l, corresponding and complementary to the height of the annular wall 2S formed on the top I3, anchorage for the die is provided and some of the thrust resulting during the compression of the material, is taken up when the machine is operated.

A compression shoe supporting spider 28a is keyed, as at 4I Figure l, or otherwise firmly secured to shaft I5 so that it may rotate with the shaft as its axis. The supporting spider consists of an externally threaded hub 29 and of a plurality of arms 3B radiating from the base of the hub. Whether there are two or more arms employed, they all are positioned equidistant from each other about the hub and lle in the same lateral plane. One or more of arms 33 may have a plurality of pins 3| extending downwardly from its underside in complementary relation to the pins 2li. Each arm 30 has an open-ended slot 32 formed within the inclined portion, as shown in Figure 3, to receive the head of a compressor shoe holding bolt 33. A nut 34 is threaded on shaft I5 and positioned against the top of the hub 29 of the compressor shoe supporting spider 28a so that the supporting spider is securely held in place on shaft I5 and yet may be readily removed therefrom when desired.

A Wedge carrying plate 35 is slideably positioned about and keyed to the hub 29 of the compressor shoes supporting spider 28a. Plate 35 has a plurality of Wedges 36 radiating therefrom each equally spaced from the Aother and their number equalling the number of arms 3U radiating from the hub 29 of supporting spider 28a. The face v3l of each of the wedges 36 is inclined inwardly at an angle equal to the inclination of the interior face of the die 25 and the underside -38 of each of the wedges has the 'same contour as the top contours of arms Sil. An annular recess 39 is formed in the top o1 plate 35 adjacent to its 'juncture with the hub 29 and a wedge plate nut 4B rits therein and is threadably positioned about the hub 29 of spider 28a. The plate nut 40, when threaded about the hub 29 prevents the upward movement of plate 35 and holds it lsnugly in place. From the foregoing, it will be noted that plate 35 may be 'slideably positioned at any point on the hub 29 and held against rotation in relation thereto 2by the key, as shown at Ma Figure 2. The plate 35 is always positioned with respect to spider 23a so that its wedges are aligned with the arms of the spider and, except for this adjustment provision, the plate and spider operate as a single assembly.

Figures 4, 5 and '6 reveal the structural chai acteristics of each vcompressor 'shoe 42 shown in working position in Figures 1 and 2 and, since they all possess the identical contours, the detailed description of one 'should Asuffice for all. Each compressor 'shoe 42 has a vertical face '43 which is normally contacted by the correspond- 'ing face 31 of the wedge 36 when the vshoe is .placed on its appropriate varm 30 of spider 28a. An involuted cut 'out 44, S-shaped in top plan View, yis Vformed within each shoe 42 adjacent face 4i This cut out portion in each shoe a1- lows more room for the conglomerate material in the process of being compressed. The compressing face 45 has a general-convex contour approximating the curvature of the inner face of the die. The meeting edge 46 of face 45 and cut out 44 is angularly disposed to add to the need for more room for the conglomerate in the compressing stage.

In the practical application of the principles disclosed and claimed in the Billows patent it has been discovered that as the material being `processed is progressively conned between the compressing face of the shoe and the inner face of the die, much of the material is forced out from the compression area over and below th shoes and only a portion finally is exuded through the openings in the die. This condition was caused not only by the natural effort of the material being compressed to escape from the compression area, but by the smooth contours of the compressing face of the shoe and the inner face of the die. In addition, it was discovered that excessive friction between two case hardcned metals not only caused premature and eX- cessive wear of the shoe face and die but resulted inthe creation of frictional heat which damaged to some extent the resulting product. To overcome all of these objectionable conditions, the compressing face 45 of the shoe 42 has been changed in some degree. An arcuated shallow recess 41 is provided in the compressing face 45 beginning almost imperceptibly slightly in back of edge 46 and ending as imperceptibly adjacent the rear edge 62 of the shoe. Fig. 4 shows, in dotted line, the approximate outline of the recess in relation to the face 45 and the approximate depth of this recess is best shown in Fig. 6. The top and bottom walls 48 and 49 of this recess are oppositely inclined leaving only narbeing compressed and acts as a strong retardantV for the materials seeking to avoid exudation through the die openings except such as is permitted to escape rearwardly by rounding edge 62. In fact, by the use of this type of shoe construction, the capacity of the Billows machine has been increased many fold. In addition, the die and shoe wear incident to the wiping action between two case hardened metals has been appreciably reduced.

Wear nevertheless does take place and, when it does occur, plate 35 is positioned in relation to spider 28a so that wedges 36 t snugly adjacent face 43 of each shoe. However, exper- Aience has shown that the shoes and the die do not wear out in the same degree, hence provision is made to compensate for the varying vwear of each shoe and each die. This is accomplished by placing a removable shim plate 5u between each wedge 36 and the face 43 of each shoe 42. These shim plates are not of the same thickness, since their thickness depends upon the wear of the respective shoes. Shim plates 5U are removably secured to the respective face of each shoe in any desirable manner not shown.

A shoe 42 is adjustably positioned on each arm y30 of spider 28a by insertion of shoe holding bolt 33 into opening 5I so that the head of the bolt sits in slot 32 and the threaded portion extends beyond opening 5l for engagement b nut 52. i

It is obvious from the foregoing that each compressor shoe is subject to three adjustments, namely, one accomplished at the time the shoe is positioned on its respective spider arm, another by the use of the wedge supporting plate and the third by individually placed shim plates. Each of these adjustments is employed not only to compensate for wear incident to lthe operation of the machine but also to control ilow of conglomerate between the compressor shoes and inner die face to produce feeds of the desired size and density. The necessity for such adjustments becomes obvious when consideration is given to the fact that it is within the contemplation of the invention to use dies having openings of different sizes and shapes in order to produce feeds of different sizes, shapes, and consistency. This in turn results 4in varying types of wear on the shoes requiring common and varying means for their adjustment.

Attention is now turned to the means for severing the material as it is extruded in compressed lform through the openings 26. This is accomplished by providing knife holding spider 53 which is keyed or otherwise secured to shaft I5. A plurality of knife arms 54 are adjustably secured to the spokes 55 radiating from the hub of the spider. Each arm 54 has a downwardly extending elbow to the end of which is removably secured a stripping knife 56. The sharp edges of stripping knives 56 contact the outer face of the die at a tangent and cut the compressed material into small portions as it is extruded through the openings 26.

A trough 51 is removably secured to and is disposed upon the perpheral edge yof section 2 and has an outlet 58 therein to which a compressed feed chute 59 is secured. Sweeper `blades, not shown, move the compressed feed to this chute. A skirt 60 is secured to the top of the die to permit confinement of the materials being processed as it comes from the feeder 6l, the structural features of which will be the subject of another application and therefore will not be described herein. The meal formed by combining various animal, vegetable, grain, or other sundry material, or a combination of these, depending upon the type of feeds to be manufactured, is delivered into the space thus formed and between the space found between the die and the shoes and then gradually confined between the shoes and die and finally extruded as ribbons to be cut into the desired size and shapes.

The operation of the machine embodying the invention is substantially similar to the mode of operation disclosed in the Billows patent. 'Ihe differences may be found only in the manner of securing and adjusting the compressing members and the novel construction features of the compressing members themselves. It is believed that the foregoing detailed description reveals the nature of the invention and its application.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a machine of the character described, a stationary, annular die provided with a plurality sesam of spaced, radially disposed openings,v means. for supporting said die, a shait journaled within said means and disposed axially with relation to said die, a supporting spider secured to said shaft and confined entirely within the space surrounded by said die, a plurality of compressing members supported upon said supporting spider, each of said compressing members being4 disposed with relation to the inner face of the die sothat its forward; end is slightly spacedfrom the inner face of the die and the rearward end. is positioned in close proximity to the inneriace of the die, means associated with each or" said compressing members for adjusting their spacing with relation to the inner face ci the die, independently actuated means associated with said supporting spider for adjusting the yspacing oi said feed compressing members with relation to the inner face of the die, and means secured' to the supporting spider and tothe die supporting means for scarifying any of the materials deposited below the compressing members.

2. In a machine or the characterl described, a stationary ring die provided with a plurality of spaced, radially disposed openings, means for supporting .said die, said means adapted to absorb a 4portion oi"y the radial pressure createc during the operation oi' the machine, means for locking said die onsaidrst-mentioned means, a shaft journaled Within said first-mentioned meansand disposed axially with relation to said die, a supporting spider secured to jsaidshait, said supporting spider having a plurality ci openended vslots therein, a wedge carrying member supportedv uponl the hub of said supportinsf spider aind' movable relative thereto,'a plurality of compressing members supported u'pon-4 saidsupporting spider, f each compressing member comprising a body member, wedgejshaped in general contour, having -a face normally contacted by one ofthe wedges ci the wedge carrying member, an inclined edge at the apex portion of the wedge form oi said body member, an involutedy cut-out, approximately S-shaped in contourr formed within said body member between said face and said inclinededge and a` convex compressing face approximating the curvature of the 'inner'v face of the die, saidcompressing face possessing anarcuated shallow recess beginning almost imperceptibly slightlyin back of saidinclined edgel and ending as imperceptibly adjacent the rear of said member ending in a rounded edge, a bolt carrying opening formed' through the body member for adjustably securing the v same to yits respective arm of the supporting spider, and each compressing member having one or their sides positioned against said Wedgecarrying lmember andhaving one -oi its ends inc los'eprommity to the inner race of thedie and the other ci its endsr disposed in ,slightly spaced relation to the inner i'ace of the die, independently actuated meansassociated with said Supporting spider vfor adjusting the spacing oisad feed compressing members withv relation to the inner face of the die, and means for locking the wedge carrying member in position. when the desiredfadiustments have been-made. j

3. In a machine of the.. character described,l a stationary tapered, ring die provided with a plurali-ty or" spaced,.radially disposed openings, means for supporting said die and for providing. a confined area into which theextruded cut material may fall, said means adapted to absorb a portion of the radial pressure created during the operation of the machine, a shaft extending 8 upwardly from and journaled within said means and disposed axiallywith relation to said die, means for driving said shaft, a supporting spider secured to said shaft and conned entirely within the space surrounded by said die, said supporting spider having a plurality or" open-ended slats there-in,A an adjustable wedge carrying member disposed upon said supporting spider and movable relative thereto, compressing members adiustably supported on said supporting spider, in relation to said slots and adapted to contact the wedge face of said adjustable wedge carryinc' mem-ber, said compressing members being at alll times, disposed in close proximity to the inner face of the die, means associated with each of said compressing members for adjusting their spacing with relation to the inner face of the die, ay lock nut surroimding said shaft and associated with said wedge carrying. member adapted to prevent disengagement between the wedge faces oi said member and said compressing members, and independently actuated means associated with said supporting spider for adjusting the spacing of said compressing members in felation to the inner face of the die.

4. A machine characterized as in claim 3 including means secured to the underside of the supporting spider and tothe top of the die supporting means for scarifying any of the material which packs therebetween.

5, In a machine of the character described, a stationary tapered ring die provided with a plurality ci spaced, radially disposed openings, means for supporting said die and' for providing a coniinedarea into which the extruded cut material may fall,- a shaft extending upwardly from and journaled within said means and disposed axially with relation to said die means for driving said shaft, a. supporting spider secured to said shaft and confined entirely within the space surrounded by said die, said supporting spider having a plurality of open-ended slots therein, an adjusting member disposed upon said supporting spider and movable relative thereto, said adjusting member having a plurality of wedge shaped arms the faces of which are parallel to the inner face of the die, .compressing members niovably supported on said supporting spider in relation to said slots and adapted to contact the wedge faces of said adjustingmember, Said compressing members being at allv times disposed in close proximity to the, inner face or the die and subject to adjustment by the movement of the adjusting member, means associated with, each of said cornpressing members for independently adjusting themA in relation to said wedge faces, a spider havingl downwardly -extending arms secured to said shaft. andhavingtheir ends positioned in spaced parallel, relation to the outer face of the die, stripping members secured to the endsA of the armsand angularly positioned against the outer face of the die, and sweeper blades depending from said ends of the arms.

6. .In combination with a feed compressing machine 4of ther class described, a plurality of compresser shoes each comprising, an arcuately shaped body member havingv a cut-out S shaped in generalt contour for permitting additional space for the. conglomerate in process of compression, the front. end of Said member being downwardly inclined for the same purpose,y the rear end of said body member being rounded, a shim holding face formed adjacent the cut-out position adaptedfor continuous control with a wedge plate embodied in said machine, and a convex compressing face formed oppositely to the shim holding face and cut-out portion, said compressing face possessing contours complementary to the inner face of the die embodied in said machine and having a shallow arcuated recess beg-inning imperceptibly slightly in back of the front edge and ending as imperceptibly slightly adjacent its rear end.

'7. Compressor shoes characterized as in claim 6 including means rotatably secured to the driving shaft of said machine for holding said shoes in working position.

8. Compressor shoes characterized as in claim 6 including means rotatably secured to the driving shaft of said machine for holding said shoes in working position and a wedge carrying plate slidably 4positioned in relation to said means adapted for maintaining said shoes in appropriate working relation at all times. s

9. Compressor shoes characterized as in claim l0 6 including means for holding said shoes in Working position, a Wedge carrying plate associated with said means and said shoes for maintaining them in proper working relation at all times and shim plates of variable thickness removably secured to said shoes and contacted by the wedge carrying plate adapted to offset the uneven Wear of said shoes and inner die face.

AARON POPICK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,848,332 Estes Mar. 8, 1932 2,144,054 Hall Jan. 17, 1939 2,157,528 Crabtree May 9, 1939 2,160,302 Billows May 30, 1939 2,167,900 Meakin Aug. 1, 1939 

